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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25337251">Wouldn't It Be Nice</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/mysterycyclone/pseuds/mysterycyclone'>mysterycyclone</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Zombies Run!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Kinda, Like super vague S6 spoilers, Season/Series 06 Spoilers, Time Travel AU</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 05:33:10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,511</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25337251</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/mysterycyclone/pseuds/mysterycyclone</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The bomb is strapped to some kind of weird machine deep in a Comansys lab. No one knows what the machine does, but it's made of the sort of materials that could poison half the UK if they were to be blown apart by a bomb and released into the atmosphere. Hence Five's foray into a new and exciting career of explosive ordnance disposal.</p>
<p>A career that she is in no way suited for, as it turns out.</p>
<p>The bomb explodes, Five's vision fades, and returns, in another time.</p>
<p>(Season 6 Five is flung back in time to Season 1)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Runner Five/Sam Yao</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>31</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Wouldn't It Be Nice</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Five has a problem. </p>
<p>Well, she actually has several problems, but they all currently stem from one singular major problem. </p>
<p>There are four wires.</p>
<p>Jody's intel, which has so far been spot on, had shown a bomb with <em>three</em> wires. Janine's binders had described no less than forty-seven different methods of disarming bombs with three wires. Five had memorized them all, down the last detail. She can <em>see</em> the laminated pages in her mind's eye, complete with a sticky stain on one page where Baby Sara's juice had spilled across it.</p>
<p>But this bomb has four wires, and all of that careful studying has suddenly become worthless.</p>
<p>“Five, the Ministry soldiers are starting to wise up to Peter's distraction. You need to hurry with that bomb," Sam says, unhelpfully.</p>
<p><em>Tell Peter to flash some leg or something, </em>Five thinks furiously. She can't risk yanking wires, and she can't leave it here. The bomb is strapped to some kind of weird machine deep in a Comansys lab. No one knows what the machine does, but it's made of the sort of materials that could poison half the UK if they were to be blown apart by a bomb and released into the atmosphere. Hence Five's foray into a new and exciting career of explosive ordnance disposal.</p>
<p>A career that she is in no way suited for, as it turns out.</p>
<p>Right, there's only one thing left, then.</p>
<p>Five yanks at the bomb, intending to grab it and sprint through the door. If she's quick enough, she can toss it out of a window--</p>
<p>She isn't quick enough. </p>
<p>The bomb explodes. The heat and fire wash over her, heating up the simple wedding band she wears on a chain around her neck to a painful degree as the shock wave destroys her headset. </p>
<p>"Five! Oh, god--" Sam’s voice echoes, as if coming from very far away.</p>
<p>The heat continues, searing her skin, and Sam's voice disappears, changing to one strange and distantly familiar.</p>
<p>"Mayday, mayday, mayday--"</p>
<p>
  <em>What?</em>
</p>
<p>Five opens her eyes against the wind and heat, and finds herself in a Mullins uniform, clinging to a handlebar welded into the frame of a flaming chopper tilted towards the ground.</p>
<p>"Jolly Alpha Five Niner going down, three miles east of Abel Township. Two souls on board."</p>
<p>The chopper’s propellers begin to whine, and the whole machine <em>creaks</em> and bends, gaining speed as they lose more altitude. </p>
<p>And then a voice speaks over her comms, young, unsteady, and achingly familiar. “This is Abel Township calling. Supply copter, can you hear us? You’re coming down fast… can any of you hear us? Open your chutes! Jump, jump!”</p>
<p>Five jumps, just as she did before. She lands. And she runs.</p>
<p>
  <strong>* * *</strong>
</p>
<p>Five reaches Abel much quicker than she did in the past; she recognizes the land around Abel well enough to do it blindfolded, and she had only been three miles away from Abel. Three miles is nothing for her these days, and the slow, shambling zombies infesting the woods barely count as obstacles. </p>
<p>The machine pushed her into the past, body and soul, and her endurance is worlds better than that first panicked run to Abel. But she staggers through rattling gates of Abel Township as confused and disoriented as she had been six years ago. This Abel is so <em>small</em>. The farms near Janine’s farmhouse are nothing more than muddy fields and churned grass, the mess tent lists to the left and looks ready to collapse at the next gust of wind, and the medical tent has shrunk down to a field hospital. The comms shack is a literal wooden again.</p>
<p>The gate rattles shut behind her, and even that sounds wrong and all too familiar. The faces around the gates are familiar; Evan and Simon are securing the gates, bickering with one another while Jody locks it into place. </p>
<p>And off to the side of the comms shack, watching Five intently, is Sara Smith.</p>
<p>Five’s grip on the CDC box grows tighter, and she can feel the blood drain from her face. She really did get flung back in time. </p>
<p>A gentle voice pulls her attention away from the other runners.</p>
<p>"Runner Five? I'm Dr. Myers,” Maxine says gently. She holds her hands out for the box and Five hands it over to her dutifully.</p>
<p>Five wants to sign ‘<em>I know. I babysit your daughter every other day.’ </em>but she settles for a shaky, wide-eyed nod instead. It’s so <em>strange</em> to see her like this; Maxine doesn’t have the hard glint in her eye yet, nor the crow’s feet at the corners of her eyes. Her jaw is softer, a bit pudgier than when Five last saw her. She hadn’t realized how much the apocalypse had aged her friend until she was sent back in time.</p>
<p>Maxine is all gentle tones and worried glances. “You seem, well, a little rattled. I wanted to check on you. Are you okay?”</p>
<p>“I’m fine,” Five signs, using the quick shorthand she and the others have used for years. It’s automatic; a habit hardwired into her. It doesn’t strike her as an odd thing to do until she sees the blatant confusion in Maxine’s eyes.</p>
<p>“Oh. I didn’t know you were--” She stops. “Mullins should have told us about this.”</p>
<p>Ah. That’s right. Five fumbles for her pockets, pulling out a notebook with a hard plastic cover and an erasable marker meant to be used for whiteboards, writing out her response on the back cover before handing it to Maxine.</p>
<p>
  <em>My medical file was on the chopper when it went down.</em>
</p>
<p>Half true. <em>Part</em> of her medical record was on the chopper; Morden hadn’t bothered giving her all of her identification and transfer papers before she was due to leave, either out of malice or laziness. Most likely a mix of both, and once upon a time, it had almost gotten her shot by Sara for being a spy.</p>
<p>Maxine hums, looking over the page. “Okay. Well, we can accommodate that pretty easily. Paper is a rare resource, but we’ll figure it out.”</p>
<p>Five takes back her notebook, pulls the sleeve of her Mullins issued jumper over her hand and wipes away at the hard plastic. The marker comes off smoothly, and she shows it off to Maxine.</p>
<p>Maxine visibly relaxes. “Perfect. We’ll get you as many erasable markers as we can find. I know Janine’s got a box of them somewhere. Right now, let’s get you settled, okay? Come on, I’ll give you the tour.”</p>
<p>Five would rather do anything else, but follows her regardless.</p>
<p>The tour lasts half an hour. Most of the people in Abel--a grand total of twenty five people with Five here--live in tents in Janine’s front lawn. In three years, that area will become the quad, statues of Archie and Sara will be erected, and it will become a gathering area for local families. Today, it’s muddy ground, leaky tents, and haggard survivors moving between the armory bunker, the comms shack, and the mess tent. Conversations are muted or anxious, and seem mostly focused on the lack of food.</p>
<p>It’s really pathetic; Five’s forgotten just how touch and go things were at the start of the apocalypse. How much they didn’t know. Maxine guides her through the township, introducing her to passing runners and citizens, most of whom marshal up enough false cheer and curiosity to make pleasant conversation--or attempt to, at least. </p>
<p>Maxine brings her to a familiar tent practically at Janine’s front door; a military tent, big enough for four, with holes in the canvas that have been repaired with duct tape. </p>
<p>“This is where you’ll be staying. I know it’s probably not as nice as the barracks at Mullins, but it’s safe and dry. We’ll start your runners training tomorrow,” Maxine says. “Come find me after breakfast, okay?.”</p>
<p>Five nods, waving at Maxine before ducking into the tent.</p>
<p>She almost immediately turns around and flees back into the township. This tent is familiar to her. She has <em>dreams </em>about this tent and the people inside it. She stands in the doorway, taking in the sights. Cameo’s bunk is next to the door, and empty at the moment. Books on beekeeping are stacked haphazardly across her sleeping bag next to some folded laundry. Jody’s bunk is a mess of yarn, needles, books, and blankets; one giant nest of comfort. Sara has a cot across from Jody’s, the blankets tucked and the bed made. The back wall has a sleeping bag, a pillow flat enough to barely be worthy of the name, and clothes stacked against it; this is where Five’s bunk will be in two weeks.</p>
<p>That isn’t what has Five in such a panicked state.</p>
<p>It’s the fact that Sara Smith is sitting on her bunk and sharpening her knife beneath the oil lamp hanging from the center pole of the tent. A knife Five recognizes as a final gift from her friend before her death.</p>
<p>She isn’t ready to be confronted with a living memory like this.</p>
<p>“Best come inside before you let all the heat out, Five,” Sara says, idly running a whetstone along the edge of her blade. “I’m getting over a small cold.”</p>
<p>Five hesitates another moment before stepping inside and pulling the flap shut. Sara never looks up from her work, but Five knows she has the woman’s full attention. She edges around the other side of the tent pole, brushing past Jody’s bunk before kneeling down to unroll her sleeping bag and sort her new (old) clothes. It’s terribly surreal, oddly painful, and Five finds herself wrestling with shock and an indescribable sadness as she listens to Sara sharpen the knife behind her.</p>
<p>“Married?” Sara asks. Five sits up and turns to look at her, frowning at her. Sara motions towards the simple wedding band on the chain around Five’s neck.</p>
<p>The wedding band that Sam gave her. Sam, who is probably writing his first letter to her, welcoming her to the township. She sucks in a breath, starts to sign, hesitates, then fumbles for her notebook.</p>
<p>
  <em>A long time ago.</em>
</p>
<p>Sara’s watching her fully now. She sets the knife aside. “How long?”</p>
<p>
  <em>Two years.</em>
</p>
<p>Sympathy fills Sara’s eyes. “It’s never easy losing them. You’d best leave that ring here or on a breakaway chain when you go on a run. Zombs love to grab whatever they can when they lunge for you.”</p>
<p>Five nods shakily, turning back to getting her bunk in order. She finishes, stands, and makes a hasty exit out of the tent.</p>
<p>She can feel Sara’s eyes on her back the entire time.</p>
<p>
  <strong>* * *</strong>
</p>
<p>When she first came to Abel, Five made a habit of getting dinner with Sam, Maxine, or Jody as often as possible. They were a breath of fresh air after the strictly ordered mess halls at Mullins base, and it helped her acclimate to the township and its people. </p>
<p>This time, Five takes her meals as late as possible, just before the kitchen closes down for the night. She settles for cold leftovers more often than not, but life on the run from Sigrid a year ago (<em>four years in the future?</em>) rid her of what few picky eating habits she still carried after the apocalypse and Janine’s patented squirrel stew tastes divine compared to the dog food she and Sam once shared while on the run. Even when cold and partially congealed.</p>
<p>This paints her in an odd light compared to the rest of the runners, and she knows she isn’t doing herself any favors isolating like this, but she needs the space.</p>
<p><em>Maybe I should have just left the box and gone on my own.</em> That probably would have been the smart decision.</p>
<p>The problem with time travel--aside from all of the <em>other</em> problems--is that being sent back in time, body and soul, can be an issue when you have a ghost in your head that shouldn’t even be there yet.</p>
<p><em>“Honestly, this could be great for us! A fresh start!”</em> Moonchild says, her thoughts brimming with excitement that spills over into Five’s mind like a broiling soup. </p>
<p><em>No</em>, Five thinks back, hard. <em>This is terrible. </em></p>
<p>And that’s another thing time travel hasn’t fixed. Moonchild is still in her head, still vying for control. Her thoughts simmer in the back of Five’s mind, distracting her. Five hasn’t yet fallen into one of her episodes, but it’s only a matter of time, and she’ll have no way of explaining it. Worse, she has no support network for dealing with it. Moonchild Syndrome hasn’t even been <em>invented</em> yet.</p>
<p>Five has never felt more alone in her life. Not at Mullins, not here, at Abel, those first few weeks when she was in training and learning how to be a runner. Back then, she could at least treat these people as strangers. It’s very hard to do that now. Not when she sees Sam’s face every morning, still chubby and free of the scars from Ian’s torture, with no recognition in his eyes when he looks at her. Not when Janine’s actions lean more towards stiffly awkward and coldly suspicious. </p>
<p>That last part hurts more than she would have ever thought. Janine’s trust is hard won and something that Five has clearly taken for granted. Back when Five first came to Abel, the two of them had watched each other with equal measures of suspicion; Janine had no reason to trust Five fully yet and Five had no inclination to give a superior the benefit of the doubt after spending months under Morden’s command.</p>
<p>Moonchild is undeterred. <em>“Think of it this way, Five. You know them! You can rebuild relationships. Start over fresh!”</em></p>
<p><em>People don’t work that way,</em> Five thinks back.</p>
<p>She doesn’t want a fresh start. She wants her friends. Her family. She wants to go back to Abel and find Tom and Jody chatting together over tea, leaning in close to one another over a map. She wants to see Maxine and Paula nestled close together during movie night. She wants to pull up a chair to watch Sam run a D&amp;D session in their years long campaign. She wants to talk to Janine, as a friend and equal, while nursing a glass of whisky near her fireplace.</p>
<p>Doing that last part right now will likely get her shot at this point.</p>
<p>It’s still tempting, though.</p>
<p><em>“But think of the possibilities! I mean, sure, there are drawbacks, but I’m sure if you went and found </em>me<em>, I could help--”</em></p>
<p>The idea is so repulsive, so <em>terrifying</em>, that Five jumps as if she’s been shot. She drops her spoon and clutches her head in her hands and <em>wills</em> Moonchild away, mentally shoving her inside a box before her suggestions begin to take root. She doesn’t want to see Moonchild alive again. The realization that she’s out there makes Five shudder.</p>
<p>“Okay there, Five?” Sara asks, gentle and easy.</p>
<p>Five whips her head up and finds herself face to face with Sara Smith, in the flesh, sitting across from her. She’s watching Five with a curious and slightly concerned expression on her face, but Five can see the wary glint in her eye, too. This Sara doesn’t trust her anymore than Janine does. Less, in fact. Five knows Sara’s been looking into her past, and what she finds there isn’t matching up with reality. Runner Five is nothing like the unsure, shy university student that first came through Abel in another time; her running form is perfect, her strength and speed speak of years of constant training and field work, and she handles shambling zombies with an almost dismissive ease. </p>
<p>None of that will match up with Sara’s investigations, and that’s eventually going to spell trouble.</p>
<p>Fives pulls out her notebook, scribbles, and nudges it over to Sara.</p>
<p>
  <em>‘I’m fine.’</em>
</p>
<p>Sara quirks a brow at her and then very slowly and deliberately signs, ‘<em>Liar.</em>’</p>
<p>Five stares at her, shocked. There hasn’t been any concerted effort to learn sign in Abel yet. That doesn’t happen until after Five finishes her training. Five technically still has three weeks left in her training, despite being able to run practically in her sleep. Janine insists it’s due to protocol, but Five is almost positive it’s because she hasn’t quite yet decided what to do with Five.</p>
<p>But Sara went out of her way to learn it, seemingly by herself. More than likely with help from Janine.</p>
<p>“How much sign do you know?” Five signs back, taking care to move slower than normal so Sara can follow. It’s surprisingly difficult; by the time Five ended up in Van Ark’s lab, she and Sara practically had a language all their own through tactical handsigns and their own personal shorthand. Five finds herself fighting the urge to use that old private language of theirs.</p>
<p>“Enough, though I understand more than I can sign myself at this point,” Sara says, resting her chin in her hand and watching Five. Her right hand stays close to her hip, and the knife she has hidden beneath her sweatpants. “Let’s try this again, shall we? Are you alright?”</p>
<p>Sara will see right through any lie she could possibly tell. Five may have fooled Sigrid once, but she’ll never be able to fool Sara Smith. Her shoulders slump. “No, I’m not.”</p>
<p>“What’s going on?”</p>
<p>“You wouldn’t believe me.”</p>
<p>“Oh, you might be surprised. I may be retired, but I know soldiers well enough. I know how horrible the job can get. Try me.”</p>
<p>She almost does. God help her, Five almost spills it all at that moment. The instinct to bring a problem to Sara and have her help figure it out is still present in Five, even after all of these years. At this point, she’s spent more time without Sara than she did <em>with</em> her, but that doesn’t matter. She can still hear the echoes of Sara’s ghost in her head, silent now that the real Sara sits in front her, alive and whole. </p>
<p>If she does tell her, Janine will have Five bundled up in the medical tent until she can arrange for Mullins to collect her. That’s not acceptable to Five. Abel needs her; this isn’t <em>her</em> Abel, but it is <em>Abel Township</em>, and Runner Five will always be there.</p>
<p>“I can’t. Not yet. But I’ll tell you eventually, once I get my mind right. I promise,” Five signs.</p>
<p>The sincerity in Five’s expression takes her off guard. Sara tilts her head, regarding her quietly before nodding. “Fair enough. I’m willing to lend an ear to a fellow soldier.”</p>
<p>Five nods, oddly relieved.</p>
<p>“You should make an effort to get to know the other runners, Five. Simon’s full of all kinds of stories and Sam’s a bit worried about you isolating yourself. We’re a team, and you’re a part of it.” The ‘<em>for now’</em> is unspoken, but only barely. “Sam’s got a game night set up for tomorrow. You should come. I think I’d like to try my hand at chess with you.”</p>
<p>Sara definitely cheats at chess. Five’s seen it. But Five knows how to cheat, too. She offers Sara a small, wry grin. “You’re on.”</p>
<p>The challenge in Five’s eyes lights an answering spark in Sara’s, and she grins. “Tomorrow, after your training. Find me in the rec room. We’ll have an hour or two free before Sam starts up his D&amp;D game.”</p>
<p>“Tomorrow.”</p>
<p>
  <strong>* * *</strong>
</p>
<p>Weeks pass. </p>
<p>The tents at Abel are slowly being replaced by bunkhouses, but the runners are last on the list for those. Cameo has long since moved out however; she, Kytan, and Yang are bundled up in one of the other tents. </p>
<p>The tent is cozy and comfortable with just three of them there. Five’s sleeping bag on the ground is upgraded to a sleeping bag spread across the tops of three milk crates plus a threadbare woolen blanket. Not surprising; Five wasn’t meant to stay at Abel for a long period of time. Mullins just never returned Janine’s call when she asked where and how they wanted to retrieve her, and that apparently rings true for this version of Abel as well. Just as well; if Five ends up back in Mullins, she’d strangle Morden and likely end up on a Ministry prison farm for it.</p>
<p>Which would be one way to get close to the Minister, if all else falls.</p>
<p>Five’s situation begins to look permanent; the machine doesn’t yank her back out of the past, and she doesn’t <em>feel</em> any different. Moonchild has been silent lately, stuffed into a box and forgotten while Five desperately tries to think of every time paradox she’s heard of and how to avoid them.</p>
<p>Will baby Sara still be born? Should she tell Maxine about Paula? What about Simon? Should she try to help him? Will he <em>let</em> her help him? And what about Van Ark and Sigrid? If Five hunts them down and puts them out of everyone’s misery now, before they can gain too much power, does that mean people will be safe or will someone just as bad or worse take their place?</p>
<p>Five’s thoughts run in circles. There are too many unknowns, and frankly, a fair few of these are outside her reach at the moment; she barely remembers where Van Ark’s labs are, and Sigrid’s powerbase is set in London. Not exactly within running distance of Abel Township. But she does decide to change two things, no matter what happens: Archie and Chris McShell’s deaths. She can do that much at least.</p>
<p>So she does.</p>
<p>
  <strong>* * *</strong>
</p>
<p>In Five’s timeline, Chris McShell is bitten by a crawler while conducting a solo run to research zombie movement patterns on a rainy and unseasonably cold day in late spring. Five makes it her mission to join him.</p>
<p>Chris perks up when he sees her join him at the gates. “I thought you had the day off, Runner Five.”</p>
<p>“She does, but she insisted on coming along to help you with your research, Chris,” Sam says, an audible shrug in his voice. “I personally didn’t like the idea of you going out on your own, so...”</p>
<p>“No, no, that’s fine. Better than fine, actually. You can help me with my research,” Chris says, excitement bubbling over into brief excitement. While others had taken Chris’ silence and withdrawn nature as aloof professionalism, Five now recognizes it as simple shyness with a tendency to focus on a problem to the exclusion of everything else. </p>
<p>Five shoots him a quick thumbs up, idly stretching her calves to prepare for the run. Above them, the sky rumbles with distant thunder, and the mist grows just a tad thicker.</p>
<p>“It’ll have to be a quick one today, guys,” Sam says. “As much as I love seeing you two wipe out entire <em>hordes</em> of zombs, we’ve got bad weather coming in. Raise gates! Covering fire!”</p>
<p>The gates rattle open, the guards take aim. Five and Chris brace themselves, waiting on Sam.</p>
<p>“Go!”</p>
<p>They set off into the mist, keeping a steady pace towards the nearest red zone between Abel Township and New Canton. What follows is an hour of chasing zombs through the outskirts of a nearby town and through the woods. Five makes sure to act as a sort of barrier for Chris, standing between him and the zombies he’s so intent on studying. She checks for crawlers and idly crushes the head of each one that even looks at Chris sideways.</p>
<p>In this version, Veronica will see her father again. Five will make sure of it.</p>
<p>The mist never quite lets up, growing thicker as morning edges into the early afternoon. Chris has filled two notebooks and cracks open a third, pen scribbling in shorthand notes that Five can’t make heads or tails of. It’s one of the easiest missions Five’s done in years, and she starts to relax just a bit. Shamblers are a cakewalk once you know how to deal with them properly. Sam pings their headsets.</p>
<p>“Okay, guys, the weather’s starting to turn. You’ll need to head back soon.”</p>
<p>“Only one more stop, Sam,” Chris says, sounding pleased with himself. His focus is still half on the notebook and pen in his hands, and Five marvels at his ability to run, write, and talk all at once. “Jody and I shot a group of shamblers with paintballs near the edge of the Miller farm around the corner. I want to see where--”</p>
<p>Five sees it at the last second, hidden among the weeds grown tall alongside the path. A zombie wearing the torn and bloody remnants of a New Canton jumpsuit. It lunges out of the weeds with a vicious, deep throated snarl, jaws wide open. It moves so fast that Five only has time to grab Chris and yank him out of its reach, sending him flying into the dirt. </p>
<p>He lands hard, with a cough and wheeze, and Five winces. She’s grown stronger since getting the Van Ark serum, and sometimes forgets her own strength. She beats the zomb back with her cricket bat, going into a full golf stance and whacking its head free of its shoulders in one smooth motion. Its body falls to the muted ground with a muted squelch, and she turns to offer Chris a hand up.</p>
<p>“Bloody hell, Five,” Sam breathes. “Good work. Right, I’m calling it, Ten, Five, come home--”</p>
<p>“Five, behind you!” Chris shouts.</p>
<p>A rasping snarl behind her ear sends Five forward, ducking her head down and raising her arm up on instinct to shove the zombie back. Her shoes slide in the mud, and she loses balance, pitching forward <em>towards</em> the zombie who lunges down to meet her halfway. She snaps her arm up further to protect her eyes--</p>
<p>The zombie’s grip on her wrist and elbow is iron tight and chillingly cold. The feel of its teeth ripping and tearing into the flesh of her forearm is painful beyond measure. A throbbing pain that feels like a bone deep burn winding its way through her veins sets in, and Five grits her teeth as she finally braces herself and shoves the zombie back.</p>
<p>It takes a piece of her arm with it when it stumbles back. Chris is on it in a second, crushing its head with one solid swing of his crowbar. The zombie’s skull caves in on itself and it joins its partner on the muddy ground. </p>
<p>Five sighs in relief.</p>
<p>Relief that isn’t shared by Chris or Sam, she realizes. Chris looks pale and sick, staring at her arm. </p>
<p>“Five,” Chris says, quiet and sick.</p>
<p>“Oh, god,” Sam says helplessly. He sounds like he’s on the verge of tears. “Just get home. Get home right now. We still have time before--I mean, there might be--just <em>come home.</em>”</p>
<p>Chris silently helps Five bandage the wound, avoiding her eyes. He seems to shrink down the closer they get to Abel, looking at her only when he thinks she won’t notice. The mist turns to rain by the time they reach Abel, the guards murmuring among themselves as the two runners come inside. </p>
<p>Sara and Maxine are at the gates, and Five can’t help but notice the pistol on Sara’s hip.</p>
<p>“Five? You need to come with us,” Maxine says quietly. “Let’s take a look at that wound, okay? It looks like you’ve bled right through the bandages.”</p>
<p>Five nods, shrugging off her backpack and handing it over to Chris as if this is a normal, every day run. He takes it hesitantly, overwhelmed.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry, Five,” he manages, his voice whisper quiet.</p>
<p>Five smiles at him in return, pulling out her notebook and pen to write a response--</p>
<p>And dropping both when her arm spasms with pain. Five sucks in a breath and clutches her arm, cradling it close to her just. That had <em>hurt</em>. She’s used to pain, but there’s a unique kind of pain that follows a zombie bite. A creeping burn that twists muscles out of place. Chris winces, ducks down, and hurries off to drop off their backpacks at the armory without a second look back.</p>
<p>Sara walks over and picks up her fallen notebook, pocketing it along with her pen. She places a warm, gentle hand on Five’s shoulder and gently nudges her away from the gates. “Come on, Five. This way.”</p>
<p>They take her to the comms shack, and Maxine peels off the bandages. The wound is truly ugly under the stark light of the shack. All twisted flesh and oozing blood. Five’s seen and suffered worse injuries, but the others go pale at the sight. Maxine just looks tired; this isn’t her first or last runner she’ll see die to a bite.</p>
<p>“If we had the tools, I could try to amputate, but--” She shakes her head. “It’s been too long. The amputation has to happen immediately after the bite. I’m sorry, Five. This is...there’s nothing I can do.”</p>
<p>Five sits on the well worn couch tucked against the wall of the shack, wondering how exactly she can explain that the wound probably isn’t as big of a deal as they’re making it out to be. She could try; the others are passable with sign language by now. But they’ll assume she’s saying it out of denial, and it would do nothing but break their hearts. She settles for a shrug and thumbs up.</p>
<p>Five’s first super power is having terrible luck. Her second is social awkwardness, it seems.</p>
<p>“I went through the paperwork you gave Janine a few weeks ago,” Sam says. “Um, it says you don’t have any family left. So I figured we could just be here for you? Until....Well. Until the end.”</p>
<p>Five nods, signing at him slowly. “I’ll be fine, Sam.”</p>
<p>He squints, following her movements closely, and seems to get the gist of what she signed and smiles.</p>
<p>So she sits in the comms shack with Sam and Maxine. Sam is quiet, withdrawn, but he still aims warm smiles her way when he thinks she needs the support. Maxine rubs her eyes and sighs a lot. Sara stands in the corner, arms crossed, a heavy frown on her face. The pistol on her hip gleams in the comms shack light.</p>
<p>Five sits there awkwardly. She’s forgotten how serious a simple bite can be so soon after Z-Day. How little they truly know about the virus. She wishes she’d paid better attention to the science of it all; she could speed along the process for a cure by years if she fully understood it. For now, she sits on the old couch, occasionally fidgeting, unsure of what to do or how to explain that she’s probably immune after the Van Ark treatment.</p>
<p>Finally, after an hour, she signs, “So, can I borrow your campaign notes, Sam? I kind of want something to read.”</p>
<p>“Oh. Y-yeah, one sec--” He fumbles around his desk, pulling out a beaten up three ring binder covered in doodles of monsters and characters from his game and handing it to her.</p>
<p>Five opens it and starts digging right through his notes.</p>
<p>Four hours later, Maxine is checking her watch, seemingly baffled. Sara has gone from stiff and withdrawn to watching Five suspiciously and with more than a little disbelief.</p>
<p>Five is mildly insulted by Shoggoth Five’s stats in Sam’s D&amp;D game.</p>
<p>“Communication zero?” She signs at him, quirking a brow. “Really.”</p>
<p>“You're an elder beast. Human speech is beneath you,” Sam says defensively.</p>
<p>“Why yellow polka dots?”</p>
<p>“Because of your trainers. Obviously Shoggoth Five would have the same on their lower tentacles. It’s all the rage for eldritch gods.”</p>
<p>“Their?”</p>
<p>“Elder beast. Seems insulting to push them into an outdated human definition of gender, don’t you think?”</p>
<p>Five considers that and shrugs. “Fair.” She squints at him. “How much thought did you put into this?”</p>
<p>“More than I’m ever going to admit to, frankly.”</p>
<p>“I’m technically on my deathbed.”</p>
<p>“Deathcouch,” Sam corrects, then when the words fully hit him, he shrinks down in his chair and visibly dies inside, covering his face with his palm. </p>
<p>The sight of it is familiar, and oddly endearing, and Five smiles at him.</p>
<p>“Five, how are you feeling?” Maxine asks, her tone baffled and just short of outright shock.</p>
<p>Five looks up at her. “Kind of hungry.”</p>
<p>“For meat or....” Maxine trails off. “Some people said they experience a sharp hunger before the infection takes over. At this point, any information--”</p>
<p>“Garlic bread.”</p>
<p>Maxine looks to be at a loss. Five reaches up to scratch at her the bandages wrapped around her bite. The itching has been growing steadily worse over the past few hours, and the only thing keeping her from scratching like a maniac is the knowledge that it would make her look like a full on lunatic. It would also probably get her shot by Sara, which is something she’d rather avoid altogether.</p>
<p>Sara walks over and lifts Five’s arm up, pulling back the bandages. The skin is healed; there’s a scar from the zombie bite, but not much more than that. She freezes, reaching out to test the skin, her callused fingers running over the bite mark slowly. Five shivers; the skin is fresh and overly sensitive. Sara drops Five’s arm and presses the back of her hand to her forehead.</p>
<p>“My god,” she says quietly. “You’re not even <em>sick.</em> The bite’s practically gone and you don’t even have a damned fever.”</p>
<p>Maxine is at her side in an instant, prodding the bite wound. Her expression is just short of overwhelmed shock.</p>
<p>“Yeah, I’m immune,” Five signs. “But thanks for keeping me company and letting me read your campaign notes, Sam. I’m definitely using it to my advantage, sorry not sorry.”</p>
<p>Sam looks mildly indignant, but there are tears in his eyes and he grins at her, relief overtaking the annoyance. He lunges forward and wraps her into a fierce, tight hug, dropping onto the couch beside her. “You’re such a bloody <em>sneak</em>, Five--”</p>
<p>The hug almost undoes her. Five presses into the hug, burying her face into his shoulder and clinging to him. She’s been avoiding him as much as she can, but he’s still <em>Sam</em>, still worried for her, and still determined to make her feel welcome and tell her how much he respects her. </p>
<p>He rambles on, tearful and joyful, rocking her back and forth before ducking back and playfully punching her arm. Five smiles at him and he beams back.</p>
<p>He’s still Sam, but he isn’t <em>her</em> Sam, and he won’t ever be. </p>
<p>“I need to find Janine,” Maxine says numbly. “This changes <em>everything.</em> Five, go get cleaned up and get some food. Sara, go with her. Make sure nothing happens to her.”</p>
<p>“Right. Come on, Five. We’ve taken up enough of Sam’s time, and you certainly need a shower,”</p>
<p>“Rude,” Five signs with a huff, standing up and secretly glad to put some distance between herself and Sam.</p>
<p>Sara smirks, clapping her shoulder as she guides Five out of the comms shack. Maxine follows them, and immediately breaks out into a sprint for the farmhouse. Five almost wishes she could be there to witness Maxine giving Janine the news that Runner Five is immune.</p>
<p>But she really could use that shower. </p>
<p>Sara and Five walk towards the newly built shower facility. The stalls are made of wood, the water pressure is variable, and the water itself is freezing cold and measured to the last drop, but it’s better than using a rag and bucket to clean up. Five steps inside, heading for her locker, and Sara follows.</p>
<p>“Your husband was like Sam, wasn’t he?” she asks.</p>
<p>Five winces, ducking her head and looking away. Sam <em>is</em> her husband--or was. Time travel destroyed that. And isn’t that a bit awkward to explain. She settles for a quick nod.</p>
<p>Sara’s expression softens, and she reaches out and squeezes Five’s shoulder. “I wondered. If you need distance from him, I can have Maxie chat with him.”</p>
<p>Five hesitates. “I’ll let you know.”</p>
<p>Sara nods, heading for the door so Five can have some privacy while she showers. “Get cleaned up, Five. I’ll meet you at the mess hall.”</p>
<p>Five ducks into a stall and turns on the water, shivering as she hastily cleans herself up.</p>
<p>
  <strong>* * *</strong>
</p>
<p>She expects to find the mess hall full of lingering workers or runners, but it’s silent and empty. There’s a bowl of soup sitting out at one of the tables, obviously set aside for her. Five idly wonders where Sara went off to, but she’s hungry enough to ignore her curiosity. Rapid healing has its price, and her price is an aching hunger and maddening itch over the former wound. </p>
<p>She picks up the spoon set beside the steaming bowl and stirs the soup before eating. It’s still a touch too hot, but she doesn’t care. She’s <em>hungry.</em> Hungry enough that she doesn’t realize Sara’s been watching her from the kitchen doorway until she’s halfway done with the soup. Five tilts her head at her, slowly lowering the soup bowl back to the table. There’s an odd tension to Sara’s shoulders that sets off warning bells in Five’s mind.</p>
<p>Sara holds Five’s notebook, gently tapping it against her palm. She watches Five, wary curiosity in her eyes. “I’ve been doing a bit of reading while you were in the shower.”</p>
<p>Five presses her lips into a thin line. That notebook has followed her since her first days at Abel; it’s full of notes and doodles, and mission briefs from years past. </p>
<p>“This notebook is pretty fascinating, Five. For example, I’ve found no less than four notes from myself, dated six months into the future, a copy of my old Outfit ID badge, and several other notes and doodles from Sam, Jody, Janine, and Tom de Luca. Tom, who’s been dead for years, but apparently leaves notes asking you to find a certain type of wine for a dinner date with Jody where he intends to propose to her...five years from now.”</p>
<p>So much for preserving the timeline. Five is the worst Time Lord.</p>
<p>“The most damning part of this,” she says, stalking into the room. “Is that it all looks <em>genuine.</em> Janine’s codes are hidden in her notes--I’d recognize them anywhere--and it seems Tom uses a similar cypher. Sam’s doodles speak for themselves in a way, and Jody’s handwriting matches all of her reports.”</p>
<p>Five knows about the cyphers; Janine taught her all of them after Van Ark’s death. Back when she fully earned Janine’s trust and they slowly built a friendship.</p>
<p>“And my notes...well. I’ve always left hidden messages to myself. There are quite a few in this notebook. Every last one says I should trust you with my life.”</p>
<p>She walks over and drops Five’s notebook on the table, sitting across from Five. She pins Five with an intense stare.</p>
<p>“Tell me everything.”</p>
<p>So she does.</p>
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